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The Finder is atrocious. It's the worst default macOS app and probably the worst program period I've ever used. It's been so dumbed down that it's basically unu

The Finder is atrocious. It's the worst default macOS app and probably the worst program period I've ever used. It's been so dumbed down that it's basically unusable for anyone slightly experienced. - There's no way to create an empty file - There's no easy way to cut a file/folder (Cmd-x doesn't work) - There's no (?) way to keep everything consistently sorted and aligned - ~~Tags are useless and just take up space for nothing~~ This one is entirely subjective. I retract it. - No "parent folder"... There's some great features in Finder but it sucks at so many things it's just frustrating to use. Windows Explorer is infinitely better. It has less cool features (no tabs for instance) but is so much better to actually use. I get that some features are hidden to avoid confusing non savvy users, but preventing experimented users to do basic stuff is criminal.

Angostura 5y ago
I use tags all the time, so Im not sure why you find them useless. And what do you mean - no parent folder?
coldtea 5y ago
>- There's no way to create an empty file Create it for what? To use to launch the app that handles it? Just open the respective app and save an empty or unedited file. >- There's no easy way to cut a file/folder (Cmd-x doesn't work) Copy as regularly (Cmd-C), and use Option-Cmd-V to move the file where you want to. >- There's no (?) way to keep everything consistently sorted and aligned Not sure what you mean. >- Tags are useless and just take up space for nothing They're useful if you use them. Many people do use them. What exactly would you do with that "space" anyway? It's not like they take space in your apartment. It's a UI element which you can use or not use. >- No "parent folder"... Cmd+up arrow or Go -> Enclosing Folder. Looks like all of the complains are basically "they're not where they was on Windows".
- bane 5y ago
  You successfully managed to confirm all of the parent's complaints by showing that they aren't achievable in Finder, or don't follow a consistent convention and have to be done some other way.
  - cdcarter 5y ago
    What's wrong with command-up to go to the enclosing folder? As the poster stated, you don't even need to use the keyboard shortcut, there's a menu item.
    - tsimionescu 5y ago
      If I'm in a GUI app, I'm navigating with the mouse. Having to take my hand off the mouse to type Cmd+Up is not good UX for such a common command as "cd ..".
      - Tagbert 5y ago
        For GUI you right click on the folder name and go to parent or you double click on the parent folder name in the path at the bottom of the window.
      - coldtea 5y ago
        I already gave one method to do it with the mouse (Go -> Enclosing folder). There are several other ways to navigate to the parent.
  - defaultname 5y ago
    It might "confirm" the complaints but it also invalidates them. Fighting against the way something works isn't particularly valid, and is often ignorance (in the "don't know" way, not the obnoxious way). The guy helped with some knowledge. This goes both ways. There have been whiny posts by Mac users who go to Windows (or from iOS to Android) and then gripe and complain about everything that isn't what they're accustomed to. It's just as silly.
  - coldtea 5y ago
    All of those are achievable in Finder, the shortcuts I gave work precisely in Finder, and are also available as toolbar buttons and/or menu options. >or don't follow a consistent convention and have to be done some other way. The follow macOS conventions, not Windows conventions.
- tryonenow 5y ago
  How is any of this intuitive?
- schnebbau 5y ago
  So basically "you're holding it wrong".
  - dsego 5y ago
    Or rtfm.
  - coldtea 5y ago
    So basically "if you're expecting Windows conventions, you came to the wrong place".
- throwaddzuzxd 5y ago
  > Looks like all of the complains are basically "they're not where they was on Windows". Well... yeah kinda but not only. Windows does some things better, and it seems like a good idea to copy good UX paradigms wherever they come from. Also for some of these your answere is "why do you want to do this?" or "use some obscure keyboard magic". I want to because I want to. Sometimes I'm in a folder and want to create a specific file because it fits my current workflow. I don't always do it, but sometimes I need to. >Copy as regularly (Cmd-C), and use Option-Cmd-V to move the file where you want to. I don't care, why is it not Cmd-X? Why do they break the universal standard with this?
  - coldtea 5y ago
    >I don't care, why is it not Cmd-X? Why do they break the universal standard with this? Because there's no "universal standard". There's mac (which did UI/folders/etc before Windows), Windows, and there's X and modern Linux desktops which came late to the game and (especially traditional X) didn't have any consistent way to do this (or even oferred it).
mcv 5y ago
It's not that Windows Explorer is much better, though. I hate how it prefers to display everything as icons instead of details. How it hides files and directories, doesn't show extensions, etc. But there's one thing it gets right: it shows you where you are, and you can edit that to go anywhere. Finder can do that too, but it doesn't show you it can do that. You have to know. I recently got a Macbook from work, partially because a Mac-fan coworker had been bugging me to switch from Windows to Mac. At some point I was showing something and typed a path straight into Finder, which blew his mind! He'd been using Macs for ages, and he just wasn't aware that Finder could do that. He learned something useful and new, but it's also quite telling that even some experienced Mac users aren't aware of the existence of such a vital feature.
- throwaddzuzxd 5y ago
  >How it hides files and directories, doesn't show extensions, etc. Finder does that too. I didn't list it because it can be configured, which is IMO a sensible default for standard users. >But there's one thing it gets right: it shows you where you are, and you can edit that to go anywhere. YES! Finder allows to display a breadcrumb at the bottom, but the simplest way to go anywhere is Cmd+Shift+G. It sucks as a shortcut, and even then it's inferior to Explorer.
- vmladenov 5y ago
  If you right click on your pwd in Finder (top middle) you can see and jump to any point up to root.
- rashil2000 5y ago
  > I hate how it prefers to display everything as icons instead of details. It's actually the opposite. The view for each folder is dependent on what's inside, and if Explorer is unable to decide, it defaults to Details view.
  - frosted-flakes 5y ago
    And even then it's easy to change the defaults for each media type (documents, music, photos, etc.).
noahmasur 5y ago
@coldtea already pointed out some tips, but some others to note: > - There's no (?) way to keep everything consistently sorted and aligned Press CMD-J to open up the visual option, you can auto group and sort, snap to grid (unsorted), choose a default view. > - No "parent folder"... You can either press CMD-UpArrow or just right click on the title bar to see all the folders above it. > It has less cool features (no tabs for instance) but is so much better to actually use. Windows Explorer is also missing column view, which is a much faster way to navigate the file system completely with the keyboard. I'm often frustrated in Windows Explorer just trying to move around directories.
- throwaddzuzxd 5y ago
  > Press CMD-J to open up the visual option, you can auto group and sort, snap to grid (unsorted), choose a default view. I found this menu but missed the "default view" button, thanks! It still boggles my mind that "non aligned on the grid" is the default though. It's a mess.
  - mthoms 5y ago
    >It still boggles my mind that "non aligned on the grid" is the default though. It's a mess. This infuriates me every time. This should be the default for the desktop (maybe) and absolutely no where else.
- mcguire 5y ago
  "Press CMD-J" It's amazing how far Emacs has penetrated UI design.
bayindirh 5y ago
> There's no way to create an empty file This is one of the features I never miss and don't use on any other DE (like KDE). I just open the app, create the file and save. Maybe it's just habit, but I personally doesn't find it as a needed feature. > There's no easy way to cut a file/folder (Cmd-x doesn't work) Just drag it where you want while pressing CMD? I know it's not cut but it prevents a lot of errors I think. > There's no (?) way to keep everything consistently sorted and aligned It's called "Clean Up By". Available in right click menu and in the top menu probably. It'll always keep the order you choose. > Tags are useless and just take up space for nothing. On the contrary, this is something I love. I can just throw a bunch of files to a folder and tag them about what I'm going to do with them. Colors allow me to mentally sort them with no overhead. > No "parent folder"... Two-finger click to folder name on the finder. The path will be revealed as a reverse-ordered stack. Or just press back. It's parent folder 99% of the time.
- Nextgrid 5y ago
  "Clean up by" is still a manual thing you have to do regularly? My downloads folder looks like a mess because files constantly get added/deleted from it via the Dock.
  - bayindirh 5y ago
    No, that's "Clean Up", which just aligns & tidies stuff a little. "Clean Up By" is automatic. I generally disable "Clean Up By" because I love to visually group my folders for some types of folders. e.g.: Assets there, source files here, readme and docs to that corner, etc. However, sometimes an orderly folder is required and I enable Clean Up By date for example. That folder is always sorted by date.
- volta83 5y ago
  > No "parent folder"... or CMD+UP
  - tablespoon 5y ago
    >> No "parent folder"... > or CMD+UP There's also a control that lets you jump to any ancestor directories, but it's not enabled by default.
ricketycricket 5y ago
Can't make any excuses for Finder. I always reccomend Forklift for more advanced users. Dual-pane, midnight commander shortcuts, multi-rename, SFTP/S3 support, etc. https://binarynights.com https://binarynights.com
robertoandred 5y ago
What on earth is an "empty" file? And yes you can cut. Cmd-C, Cmd-Opt-V. And yes, you can sort and align. Just go to the View menu. And yes, there's a way to go the parent folder. SEVERAL: - Go -> Enclosing Folder - Cmd-Up - Right click on the window title and choose any enclosing folder from the tree - Show the Path Bar and double click any enclosing folder from the tree I don't think you've ever actually used a Mac.
- throwaddzuzxd 5y ago
  > I don't think you've ever actually used a Mac. For the last 2 years I've used a Mac professionally and personally. I switched from Windows because lots of things are better. Finder is not one of them. And your answers should give you a hint why it sucks. An empty file is a file that is empty, with the name and extension I chose on the moment I need it. >And yes you can cut. Cmd-C, Cmd-Opt-V. With the wrong keyboard shortcut, the correct one universally being Cmd-X. >And yes, there's a way to go the parent folder. SEVERAL: > >- Go -> Enclosing Folder > >- Cmd-Up > >- Right click on the window title and choose any enclosing folder from the tree > >- Show the Path Bar and double click any enclosing folder from the tree Several ways, none being the correct one. Nice. I know Apple likes hard to discover shortcuts but this is ridiculous.
  - bayindirh 5y ago
    > With the wrong keyboard shortcut, the correct one universally being Cmd-X. I think there's no right or wrongs in keyboard shortcuts, but there are traditions. Both Windows and macOS has their distinct histories and traditions with inspirations from each other. I think it's equally wrong to point a finger to a Windows machine and shout "Why you don't have a command key, you inferior OS-Wannabe?" Some machines work different from each other. Sun and other Unixen had super, hyper and meta layers on their keyboards with hundreds or more shortcuts. They weren't wrong either, just different, and IMHO cool. > Several ways, none being the correct one... Again, if we're going to throw stones, I can name a lot of shortcomings in Windows from file names to other small/backward stuff, but it'd be equally wrong. They are just different systems and have different choices. > I know Apple likes hard to discover shortcuts but this is ridiculous. Just open the help menu of an app and write to command you want to find. It'll show it on the menu. Pressing enter will directly run that action.
KaoruAoiShiho 5y ago
Also difficult/impossible to smart merge 2 folders, they always replace each other.
- anti-makrakis 5y ago
  There is a console command on Mac OS called 'ditto' that accomplishes this. https://www.unix.com/man-page/OSX/1/ditto/ https://www.unix.com/man-page/OSX/1/ditto/
dsego 5y ago
> There's no easy way to cut a file/folder (Cmd-x doesn't work) You don't need cut for files, you either want to duplicate the file or move it. For moving you copy it (cmd-c) and then move with cmd-opt-v. Cut doesn't really make sense for files. With text you cut out the text into a clipboard. Where does the file go when you cut it? Nowhere. There is no place where you can see that you had already cut a file but it's waiting for you to make a mistake and move it somewhere by accident. Mac has a better duplicate/move UX paradigm and more appropriate for files & folders.
- throwaddzuzxd 5y ago
  How does one discover Cmd-Opt-V? Even with a right click after copying a file, there's no "Move" option. Your explanation makes sense but doesn't really seem supported with Finder's UX since the "Move" terminology doesn't exist anywhere
  - dsego 5y ago
    Usually the option key uncovers more available options in context menus. > How does one discover Cmd-Opt-V? Keyboard shortcuts are not usually meant to be "discovered" (how do you discover ctrl+x?). You can learn and memorize them. Although, there is a common theme with the option/alt modifier on the mac.
    - jlund-molfese 5y ago
      Microsoft Word is an example of software which allows keyboard shortcut discovery pretty well [1] [1] https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/keyboard-shortcuts-in-word-95ef89dd-7142-4b50-afb2-f762f663ceb2#bkmk_ribbonwin https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/keyboard-shortcuts...
      - dsego 5y ago
        > Press the Alt key to display the ribbon shortcuts Seems pretty similar to apple, you have to know that pressing Alt shows additional information.
rjayatilleka 5y ago
FYI you can do cut in Mac. Do Cmd-C to copy and the Cmd-Option-V to cut-paste. For whatever reason, Windows has cut attached to selecting the file, but Mac has it attached to pasting the file.
- kevincox 5y ago
  To me attaching it to source file actually makes sense. In either scenario paste results in the same thing at the destination, it is only the behaviour of the source that changes. (Sure, under the hood nothing different happens at the beginning, but semantically I think Windows makes sense here)
- tsimionescu 5y ago
  > For whatever reason, Windows has cut attached to selecting the file That is the universal way copy/cut&paste work, everywhere outside the Mac Finder.
  - dsego 5y ago
    Everywhere being windows and linux file managers that copied windows?
    - frosted-flakes 5y ago
      Even on Mac OS cut works like Windows, except in Finder.
      - dsego 5y ago
        On text where it makes sense.
    - hdctambien 5y ago
      And "real life" cutting and pasting that the metaphor was based on (scrapbooking, ransom notes, etc...)
- icedistilled 5y ago
S_A_P 5y ago
- There's no way to create an empty file Fair - There's no easy way to cut a file/folder (Cmd-x doesn't work) If the intent is to paste/move then hold option cmd v(or in the context menu hold option) if you just want to cut it to remove it then that is a delete. Not necessarily better or worse imo just different - There's no (?) way to keep everything consistently sorted and aligned Need more info here, but I dont notice a problem with sorting by name type modified or any other column header just like windows explorer?
lloeki 5y ago
> - There's no easy way to cut a file/folder (Cmd-x doesn't work) CMD+C then CMD+ALT+V I think of it not as copy-paste vs cut-paste but mark-copy vs mark-move. It makes it consistent with drag and drop where alt is the modifier for copy vs move (the default depending on whether it's same disk vs another one)
- mlindner 5y ago
  There's no Alt key on a Mac.
  - Tagbert 5y ago
    Option/Alt
cpleppert 5y ago
>> There's no easy way to cut a file/folder (Cmd-x doesn't work Cmd-opt-V will move the previously copied folder/file. I find this behavior superior to having to decide whether to cut/copy a file to select it. Instead, you choose the operation when it is time to actually move or copy. You can also copy a file to multiple locations in combination with a move. Cmd-up moves to the parent folder. You have lots of sort and aligning options that are accessible in keyboard shortcuts. Column browser doesn’t have a good windows equivalent for example. Alt or double clicking the bottom bar adjusts the width of all panes or auto adjusts the selected one. So I’m never in a situation where some file name is cut off even in very deep hierarchies.
- m007850 5y ago
  So many people don't know about this. macOS' cut/paste behaviour is far superior for the reasons you state.
socialdemocrat 5y ago
There are certainly issues with finder, but your complaints really just highlight that you are more experienced with the windows and not accustomed to Mac. One of the problems addressing some of the issues you raised Is that you are not really explaining what you want to do. All you do is complain why Mac doesn’t work exactly like windows. Instead you should figure out what you want to do and explore and learn how that is accomplished on a Mac.
- throwaddzuzxd 5y ago
  > and not accustomed to Mac If I'm not accustomed to macOS after using it exclusively for more than 2 years, that shows where it sucks. There's plenty of things that I love on macOS: Spotlight, three-finger moves, even the weird fullscreen mode because it works so well with the pad. But the finder just sucks. That's it. It's not the end of the world and doesn't make macOS crappy. It's just a bad app.
amatecha 5y ago
Parent folder: command-click on the title bar of the window, get a menu of the entire hierarchy above the current folder. (or as others have already said, Command-UpArrow to open the parent folder)
taylodl 5y ago
> There's no way to create an empty file" Depends on what you mean by easy. There's 2 (two) things you need to do to make this easier: 1. Enable New Terminal Tab at Folder service in Finder (goto Finder/Services/Services Preferences.../Files and Folders). 2. Make sure the Path Bar is visible in Finder (it's on the View Menu) Now right-click the path in the Path Bar where you want to create the folder, select and click the New Terminal Tab at Folder and then touch whatever empty file you want created. Close the terminal window/tab. Done! I rarely need to create a new, empty file - but when I do this is how I do it!
granneman 5y ago
> There's no way to create an empty file I use a nice little app called New File Menu to do that. It supports a bunch of defaults & whatever other templates you want to create. $2 on the Mac App Store. I’m just a happy user. App Store link: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/new-file-menu/id1064959555?ls=1&mt=12 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/new-file-menu/id1064959555?ls=... Website: https://langui.net/new-file-menu/ https://langui.net/new-file-menu/

Angostura 5y ago

I use tags all the time, so Im not sure why you find them useless. And what do you mean - no parent folder?

coldtea 5y ago

>- There's no way to create an empty file Create it for what? To use to launch the app that handles it? Just open the respective app and save an empty or unedited file. >- There's no easy way to cut a file/folder (Cmd-x doesn't work) Copy as regularly (Cmd-C), and use Option-Cmd-V to move the file where you want to. >- There's no (?) way to keep everything consistently sorted and aligned Not sure what you mean. >- Tags are useless and just take up space for nothing They're useful if you use them. Many people do use them. What exactly would you do with that "space" anyway? It's not like they take space in your apartment. It's a UI element which you can use or not use. >- No "parent folder"... Cmd+up arrow or Go -> Enclosing Folder. Looks like all of the complains are basically "they're not where they was on Windows".

bane 5y ago
You successfully managed to confirm all of the parent's complaints by showing that they aren't achievable in Finder, or don't follow a consistent convention and have to be done some other way.
- cdcarter 5y ago
  What's wrong with command-up to go to the enclosing folder? As the poster stated, you don't even need to use the keyboard shortcut, there's a menu item.
  - tsimionescu 5y ago
    If I'm in a GUI app, I'm navigating with the mouse. Having to take my hand off the mouse to type Cmd+Up is not good UX for such a common command as "cd ..".
    - Tagbert 5y ago
      For GUI you right click on the folder name and go to parent or you double click on the parent folder name in the path at the bottom of the window.
    - coldtea 5y ago
      I already gave one method to do it with the mouse (Go -> Enclosing folder). There are several other ways to navigate to the parent.
- defaultname 5y ago
  It might "confirm" the complaints but it also invalidates them. Fighting against the way something works isn't particularly valid, and is often ignorance (in the "don't know" way, not the obnoxious way). The guy helped with some knowledge. This goes both ways. There have been whiny posts by Mac users who go to Windows (or from iOS to Android) and then gripe and complain about everything that isn't what they're accustomed to. It's just as silly.
- coldtea 5y ago
  All of those are achievable in Finder, the shortcuts I gave work precisely in Finder, and are also available as toolbar buttons and/or menu options. >or don't follow a consistent convention and have to be done some other way. The follow macOS conventions, not Windows conventions.
tryonenow 5y ago
How is any of this intuitive?
schnebbau 5y ago
So basically "you're holding it wrong".
- dsego 5y ago
  Or rtfm.
- coldtea 5y ago
  So basically "if you're expecting Windows conventions, you came to the wrong place".
throwaddzuzxd 5y ago
> Looks like all of the complains are basically "they're not where they was on Windows". Well... yeah kinda but not only. Windows does some things better, and it seems like a good idea to copy good UX paradigms wherever they come from. Also for some of these your answere is "why do you want to do this?" or "use some obscure keyboard magic". I want to because I want to. Sometimes I'm in a folder and want to create a specific file because it fits my current workflow. I don't always do it, but sometimes I need to. >Copy as regularly (Cmd-C), and use Option-Cmd-V to move the file where you want to. I don't care, why is it not Cmd-X? Why do they break the universal standard with this?
- coldtea 5y ago
  >I don't care, why is it not Cmd-X? Why do they break the universal standard with this? Because there's no "universal standard". There's mac (which did UI/folders/etc before Windows), Windows, and there's X and modern Linux desktops which came late to the game and (especially traditional X) didn't have any consistent way to do this (or even oferred it).

mcv 5y ago

It's not that Windows Explorer is much better, though. I hate how it prefers to display everything as icons instead of details. How it hides files and directories, doesn't show extensions, etc. But there's one thing it gets right: it shows you where you are, and you can edit that to go anywhere. Finder can do that too, but it doesn't show you it can do that. You have to know. I recently got a Macbook from work, partially because a Mac-fan coworker had been bugging me to switch from Windows to Mac. At some point I was showing something and typed a path straight into Finder, which blew his mind! He'd been using Macs for ages, and he just wasn't aware that Finder could do that. He learned something useful and new, but it's also quite telling that even some experienced Mac users aren't aware of the existence of such a vital feature.

throwaddzuzxd 5y ago
>How it hides files and directories, doesn't show extensions, etc. Finder does that too. I didn't list it because it can be configured, which is IMO a sensible default for standard users. >But there's one thing it gets right: it shows you where you are, and you can edit that to go anywhere. YES! Finder allows to display a breadcrumb at the bottom, but the simplest way to go anywhere is Cmd+Shift+G. It sucks as a shortcut, and even then it's inferior to Explorer.
vmladenov 5y ago
If you right click on your pwd in Finder (top middle) you can see and jump to any point up to root.
rashil2000 5y ago
> I hate how it prefers to display everything as icons instead of details. It's actually the opposite. The view for each folder is dependent on what's inside, and if Explorer is unable to decide, it defaults to Details view.
- frosted-flakes 5y ago
  And even then it's easy to change the defaults for each media type (documents, music, photos, etc.).

noahmasur 5y ago

@coldtea already pointed out some tips, but some others to note: > - There's no (?) way to keep everything consistently sorted and aligned Press CMD-J to open up the visual option, you can auto group and sort, snap to grid (unsorted), choose a default view. > - No "parent folder"... You can either press CMD-UpArrow or just right click on the title bar to see all the folders above it. > It has less cool features (no tabs for instance) but is so much better to actually use. Windows Explorer is also missing column view, which is a much faster way to navigate the file system completely with the keyboard. I'm often frustrated in Windows Explorer just trying to move around directories.

throwaddzuzxd 5y ago
> Press CMD-J to open up the visual option, you can auto group and sort, snap to grid (unsorted), choose a default view. I found this menu but missed the "default view" button, thanks! It still boggles my mind that "non aligned on the grid" is the default though. It's a mess.
- mthoms 5y ago
  >It still boggles my mind that "non aligned on the grid" is the default though. It's a mess. This infuriates me every time. This should be the default for the desktop (maybe) and absolutely no where else.
mcguire 5y ago
"Press CMD-J" It's amazing how far Emacs has penetrated UI design.

bayindirh 5y ago

> There's no way to create an empty file This is one of the features I never miss and don't use on any other DE (like KDE). I just open the app, create the file and save. Maybe it's just habit, but I personally doesn't find it as a needed feature. > There's no easy way to cut a file/folder (Cmd-x doesn't work) Just drag it where you want while pressing CMD? I know it's not cut but it prevents a lot of errors I think. > There's no (?) way to keep everything consistently sorted and aligned It's called "Clean Up By". Available in right click menu and in the top menu probably. It'll always keep the order you choose. > Tags are useless and just take up space for nothing. On the contrary, this is something I love. I can just throw a bunch of files to a folder and tag them about what I'm going to do with them. Colors allow me to mentally sort them with no overhead. > No "parent folder"... Two-finger click to folder name on the finder. The path will be revealed as a reverse-ordered stack. Or just press back. It's parent folder 99% of the time.

Nextgrid 5y ago
"Clean up by" is still a manual thing you have to do regularly? My downloads folder looks like a mess because files constantly get added/deleted from it via the Dock.
- bayindirh 5y ago
  No, that's "Clean Up", which just aligns & tidies stuff a little. "Clean Up By" is automatic. I generally disable "Clean Up By" because I love to visually group my folders for some types of folders. e.g.: Assets there, source files here, readme and docs to that corner, etc. However, sometimes an orderly folder is required and I enable Clean Up By date for example. That folder is always sorted by date.
volta83 5y ago
> No "parent folder"... or CMD+UP
- tablespoon 5y ago
  >> No "parent folder"... > or CMD+UP There's also a control that lets you jump to any ancestor directories, but it's not enabled by default.

ricketycricket 5y ago

Can't make any excuses for Finder. I always reccomend Forklift for more advanced users. Dual-pane, midnight commander shortcuts, multi-rename, SFTP/S3 support, etc. https://binarynights.com https://binarynights.com

robertoandred 5y ago

What on earth is an "empty" file? And yes you can cut. Cmd-C, Cmd-Opt-V. And yes, you can sort and align. Just go to the View menu. And yes, there's a way to go the parent folder. SEVERAL: - Go -> Enclosing Folder - Cmd-Up - Right click on the window title and choose any enclosing folder from the tree - Show the Path Bar and double click any enclosing folder from the tree I don't think you've ever actually used a Mac.

throwaddzuzxd 5y ago
> I don't think you've ever actually used a Mac. For the last 2 years I've used a Mac professionally and personally. I switched from Windows because lots of things are better. Finder is not one of them. And your answers should give you a hint why it sucks. An empty file is a file that is empty, with the name and extension I chose on the moment I need it. >And yes you can cut. Cmd-C, Cmd-Opt-V. With the wrong keyboard shortcut, the correct one universally being Cmd-X. >And yes, there's a way to go the parent folder. SEVERAL: > >- Go -> Enclosing Folder > >- Cmd-Up > >- Right click on the window title and choose any enclosing folder from the tree > >- Show the Path Bar and double click any enclosing folder from the tree Several ways, none being the correct one. Nice. I know Apple likes hard to discover shortcuts but this is ridiculous.
- bayindirh 5y ago
  > With the wrong keyboard shortcut, the correct one universally being Cmd-X. I think there's no right or wrongs in keyboard shortcuts, but there are traditions. Both Windows and macOS has their distinct histories and traditions with inspirations from each other. I think it's equally wrong to point a finger to a Windows machine and shout "Why you don't have a command key, you inferior OS-Wannabe?" Some machines work different from each other. Sun and other Unixen had super, hyper and meta layers on their keyboards with hundreds or more shortcuts. They weren't wrong either, just different, and IMHO cool. > Several ways, none being the correct one... Again, if we're going to throw stones, I can name a lot of shortcomings in Windows from file names to other small/backward stuff, but it'd be equally wrong. They are just different systems and have different choices. > I know Apple likes hard to discover shortcuts but this is ridiculous. Just open the help menu of an app and write to command you want to find. It'll show it on the menu. Pressing enter will directly run that action.

KaoruAoiShiho 5y ago

Also difficult/impossible to smart merge 2 folders, they always replace each other.

anti-makrakis 5y ago
There is a console command on Mac OS called 'ditto' that accomplishes this. https://www.unix.com/man-page/OSX/1/ditto/ https://www.unix.com/man-page/OSX/1/ditto/

dsego 5y ago

> There's no easy way to cut a file/folder (Cmd-x doesn't work) You don't need cut for files, you either want to duplicate the file or move it. For moving you copy it (cmd-c) and then move with cmd-opt-v. Cut doesn't really make sense for files. With text you cut out the text into a clipboard. Where does the file go when you cut it? Nowhere. There is no place where you can see that you had already cut a file but it's waiting for you to make a mistake and move it somewhere by accident. Mac has a better duplicate/move UX paradigm and more appropriate for files & folders.

throwaddzuzxd 5y ago
How does one discover Cmd-Opt-V? Even with a right click after copying a file, there's no "Move" option. Your explanation makes sense but doesn't really seem supported with Finder's UX since the "Move" terminology doesn't exist anywhere
- dsego 5y ago
  Usually the option key uncovers more available options in context menus. > How does one discover Cmd-Opt-V? Keyboard shortcuts are not usually meant to be "discovered" (how do you discover ctrl+x?). You can learn and memorize them. Although, there is a common theme with the option/alt modifier on the mac.
  - jlund-molfese 5y ago
    Microsoft Word is an example of software which allows keyboard shortcut discovery pretty well [1] [1] https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/keyboard-shortcuts-in-word-95ef89dd-7142-4b50-afb2-f762f663ceb2#bkmk_ribbonwin https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/keyboard-shortcuts...
    - dsego 5y ago
      > Press the Alt key to display the ribbon shortcuts Seems pretty similar to apple, you have to know that pressing Alt shows additional information.

rjayatilleka 5y ago

FYI you can do cut in Mac. Do Cmd-C to copy and the Cmd-Option-V to cut-paste. For whatever reason, Windows has cut attached to selecting the file, but Mac has it attached to pasting the file.

kevincox 5y ago
To me attaching it to source file actually makes sense. In either scenario paste results in the same thing at the destination, it is only the behaviour of the source that changes. (Sure, under the hood nothing different happens at the beginning, but semantically I think Windows makes sense here)
tsimionescu 5y ago
> For whatever reason, Windows has cut attached to selecting the file That is the universal way copy/cut&paste work, everywhere outside the Mac Finder.
- dsego 5y ago
  Everywhere being windows and linux file managers that copied windows?
  - frosted-flakes 5y ago
    Even on Mac OS cut works like Windows, except in Finder.
    - dsego 5y ago
      On text where it makes sense.
  - hdctambien 5y ago
    And "real life" cutting and pasting that the metaphor was based on (scrapbooking, ransom notes, etc...)
icedistilled 5y ago

S_A_P 5y ago

- There's no way to create an empty file Fair - There's no easy way to cut a file/folder (Cmd-x doesn't work) If the intent is to paste/move then hold option cmd v(or in the context menu hold option) if you just want to cut it to remove it then that is a delete. Not necessarily better or worse imo just different - There's no (?) way to keep everything consistently sorted and aligned Need more info here, but I dont notice a problem with sorting by name type modified or any other column header just like windows explorer?

lloeki 5y ago

> - There's no easy way to cut a file/folder (Cmd-x doesn't work) CMD+C then CMD+ALT+V I think of it not as copy-paste vs cut-paste but mark-copy vs mark-move. It makes it consistent with drag and drop where alt is the modifier for copy vs move (the default depending on whether it's same disk vs another one)

mlindner 5y ago
There's no Alt key on a Mac.
- Tagbert 5y ago
  Option/Alt

cpleppert 5y ago

>> There's no easy way to cut a file/folder (Cmd-x doesn't work Cmd-opt-V will move the previously copied folder/file. I find this behavior superior to having to decide whether to cut/copy a file to select it. Instead, you choose the operation when it is time to actually move or copy. You can also copy a file to multiple locations in combination with a move. Cmd-up moves to the parent folder. You have lots of sort and aligning options that are accessible in keyboard shortcuts. Column browser doesn’t have a good windows equivalent for example. Alt or double clicking the bottom bar adjusts the width of all panes or auto adjusts the selected one. So I’m never in a situation where some file name is cut off even in very deep hierarchies.

m007850 5y ago
So many people don't know about this. macOS' cut/paste behaviour is far superior for the reasons you state.

socialdemocrat 5y ago

There are certainly issues with finder, but your complaints really just highlight that you are more experienced with the windows and not accustomed to Mac. One of the problems addressing some of the issues you raised Is that you are not really explaining what you want to do. All you do is complain why Mac doesn’t work exactly like windows. Instead you should figure out what you want to do and explore and learn how that is accomplished on a Mac.

throwaddzuzxd 5y ago
> and not accustomed to Mac If I'm not accustomed to macOS after using it exclusively for more than 2 years, that shows where it sucks. There's plenty of things that I love on macOS: Spotlight, three-finger moves, even the weird fullscreen mode because it works so well with the pad. But the finder just sucks. That's it. It's not the end of the world and doesn't make macOS crappy. It's just a bad app.

amatecha 5y ago

Parent folder: command-click on the title bar of the window, get a menu of the entire hierarchy above the current folder. (or as others have already said, Command-UpArrow to open the parent folder)

taylodl 5y ago

> There's no way to create an empty file" Depends on what you mean by easy. There's 2 (two) things you need to do to make this easier: 1. Enable New Terminal Tab at Folder service in Finder (goto Finder/Services/Services Preferences.../Files and Folders). 2. Make sure the Path Bar is visible in Finder (it's on the View Menu) Now right-click the path in the Path Bar where you want to create the folder, select and click the New Terminal Tab at Folder and then touch whatever empty file you want created. Close the terminal window/tab. Done! I rarely need to create a new, empty file - but when I do this is how I do it!

granneman 5y ago

> There's no way to create an empty file I use a nice little app called New File Menu to do that. It supports a bunch of defaults & whatever other templates you want to create. $2 on the Mac App Store. I’m just a happy user. App Store link: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/new-file-menu/id1064959555?ls=1&mt=12 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/new-file-menu/id1064959555?ls=... Website: https://langui.net/new-file-menu/ https://langui.net/new-file-menu/